The star-nosed mole is native to eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. If you've never seen one, don't be surprised; these critters spend most of their time digging underground tunnels. They use their wacky tentacled noses as feelers to find tasty worms and insects in the darkness.
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The proboscis monkey swings through the trees of Borneo. Only males have the huge honker, which can reach up to 7 inches in length. The exaggerated sniffer actually attracts females, 'cause you know what they say about big noses... good scents!
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The planet is home to more than 2 billion domestic pigs, not to mention a variety of ugly wild hogs and boars. Not very discriminating in their tastes, pigs use their superior senses of smell to scavenge for foods ranging from acorns to insects to rotting garbage.
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The African aardvark gets its name from a word meaning "earth pig." The nosy, nocturnal mammals are all about hunting termites with their keen senses of smell. Aardvarks tear apart termite mounds with their claws before sticking in their snouts -- nostrils conveniently sealed -- to hoover up the bugs.
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Dog breeds like pugs and bulldogs are famous for their short, scrunched-up noses -- and for the epic snores that bellow from their nostrils. These flattened faces can cause breathing problems that sometimes need to be corrected by surgery.
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We've all seen elephants, but how often do you stop to think about how ridiculous the pachyderm's nose really is? The tubular trunk is part nose, part upper lip, and part extra hand. The gigantic Asian and African mammals use their trunks to maneuver small objects, itch their backs, wipe their eyes, knock down trees and take long, cold drinks from the watering hole. Talk about multitasking!
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Elephant seals -- and their unmistakable schnozzes -- are found in oceans the world over. Only adult males sport the bulbous noses, which help them produce ear piercingly loud roars. The big noses also help trap water, effectively preventing moisture loss during mating season when the males rarely leave the beach for food or water.
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The impressive horn of the rhinoceros is formed from keratin, the stuff of hair and fingernails. The brutish beasts are native to Africa and Asia. In China, rhinos are hunted for their horns, which are ground up and prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine.
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Why the long face? Long-nosed dogs like dachshunds exist on the opposite end of the spectrum from pugs and bulldogs. Bred for hunting badgers and rabbits, their long noses impart them with a stupendous sense of smell.
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The elephant shrew isn't really a shrew. After years of classification confusion, scientists now say the petite African mammals aren't closely related to any living animals. They're actually very distant relatives of aardvarks, hyraxes, manatees and, yes, elephants. They use their stretched-out snouts to probe the forest floor for bugs and spiders to eat.
Jessie Cohen, National Zoo / AP
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